Famotidine versus pantoprazole for preventing bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract of critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation.

Background: Mechanical ventilation increases risk for bleeding in the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract. Proton pump inhibitors, although they are more potent and longer acting inhibitors of gastric acid production than are histamine(2) antagonists, also are generally more expensive. Data comparing the 2 types of agents for preventing gastrointestinal bleeding in critically ill patients are limited.